An off-duty Taipei County police official has come under suspicion of driving under the influence after the sedan he was driving hit a traffic cone, which in turn struck a fellow police officer in the face, leaving him unconscious.
Investigators say a car driven by Lin Chien-hung (
Hsiao is a part of a team of traffic police from Taipei City's Neihu (
After the flying traffic cone struck Hsiao, he fell and hit the ground, losing consciousness, police said. The fallen police officer was taken to the TriService General Hospital where he regained consciousness, though doctors said he suffered from a concussion.
Late last night Hsiao was transfered out of intensive care.
At the time of the accident Lin registered 0.89 mg/ml on a blood alcohol test -- higher than the 0.55 mg/ml level set by public safety regulations.
Although the incident occurred at 11pm Wednesday night, police didn't begin questioning Lin until 2am, reports said.
Speculation was rampant yesterday that Lin and two other passengers pressured police to overlook the accident.
Media reports said that because of the high ranks of police officials involved in the accident, top brass from the National Police Administration (NPA) and the Taipei City and Taipei County Police Bureaus went to the Neihu station in an attempt to delay an investigation.
Yesterday morning, the National Police Administration confirmed that in addition to Lin, NPA police inspector Chang Ta-wen (
Investigators said that, at the time of the incident, Chang was sleeping in the car. They said they were uncertain as to whether Chang should be held partly responsible for allowing Lin to drive while intoxicated.
Police said that their investigation would be carried out in accordance with the law and regulations and that the suspects in the case would not be given any special treatment. Lin will be charged with violating public safety, police said.
The Taipei City Police yesterday morning referred Lin to the Shihlin District Prosecutors Office, while the Taipei County Police said Lin would be given two demerits as punishment.
The NPA Inspectors' Office said it would look into whether Chang attempted to use his status to interfere with the duties of the traffic police.
A chief inspector said that as far as he knew, Chang did not state his position to the traffic police, though he made allusions to the fact that he was a high-ranking police officer or professor at the Central Police University.
Drunk driving accidents resulting in fatalities occur almost daily in Taiwan. In 1999, there were nearly 125,000 cases of individuals caught driving under the influence. In the first three months of last year, there were roughly 31,000 cases.
Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"No matter what level of official he is, no matter if he was a member of the Cabinet, the case should be handled according to the law," Ma said. "Everyone has equal status under the law."
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